The Celtics got off to a fast start and were up 30-22 at the end of 1 but with 7:57 left in the half, the Hawks had battled back to take a 1 point lead. The Celtics then went on a run and were up 55-44 at the half. Doc started the third with the starters on the floor and the Hawks outscored the Celtics 21-8 to start the third quarter with the starters on the floor. They were tied at 74 at the end of 3.
Doc started the 4th with Sam, PJ, Posey, Tony and Baby on the court and stuck with them for the whole quarter, leaving the starters on the bench. The star of the quarter was Sam Cassell as he got hot and was hitting shots from all over the court as the Celtics pulled away. He had a couple of very good veteran moves as he got Smith in the air and leaned in for Smith's 6th foul. Then, he was bringing the ball up with Childress behind him and he just stopped and Childress ran over him, of course being called for the foul. Sam finished with 20 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 1 steal.
It got chippy at one point with KG and Horford and then KG and Williams going at each other. KG and Williams were assessed double technicals. I am surprised that Sam didn't get a technical as he was celebrating after every basket and I recall Tony getting a technical for celebrating. KG finished with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block in 29 minutes of play. Pierce had a solid game with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 27 minutes. Ray Allen had 14 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 30 minutes.
Rondo kept slipping on the floor. There were at least 3 times that I remember that he slipped and fell down. I think he needs to get sticker shoes. He finished with 5 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in 22 minutes. Perk had 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 24 minutes. Big Baby also had a big game with 8 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes and he played the whole 4th quarter.
The Celtics shot 47% from the field while holding the Hawks to 43%. They were 26-29 from the free throw line which was a big improvement over recent free throw shooting. They also cut their turnovers down to 12. Both are good signs as we head to the playoffs. This is the second game where Doc went with the bench down the stretch and they came up with a win. It looks as though the Hawks will be our first round opponent in the playoffs. They are a tough team, but the Celtics are much deeper and that will be the difference.
I am sure everyone has seen the Kobe jumps over a car video. Lakers fans think it's real and everyone else knows it isn't. But, Inside the Iggles has posted a video of how it really went down. Click Here to see the video.
Here are comments found around the Bucks boards during their game with the Celtics. Not a lot of chat going on during this one. I think the Bucks' fans have given up along with their team. There is one gem here through when they said that Villanueva was out with an acute case of Garnettaphobia. Classic! Most of the chat was about John Hammond being named their new GM. That was definitely more exciting for them than the game.
Do we get to play against the bench for the whole game this time? That should be a pretty good game
The Bucks are so fired up by the news that a real GM has been hired they only lose tothe Celtics' JV team by 20.
Bucks might have more of a chance tonight then in the last game. The C's will be thinking more about resting the big 3.
Villanueva out ?? Judging by last time against the C's, CV might have an acute case of Garnettaphobia.
I think we will win tonight.
Hate the colour of the Celtics court. Not good on feed.
Damn anyone see Garnett running up and down the court like a mad man before the ball was tipped . The man makes me want to get up and play some D.
Watching Dan guard Garnett would be reason enough for me to bother chasing down a feed and watching a little, if he's isn't I'm not gonna bother.
Garnett faced stiffer resistance in high school.
HA Garnett fouls then lifts up Bogut and gives him a bear hug. Now that is a team player.
It is hilarious how bad Boston's starters beat us by.
I'm not watching the game and have no idea if he has done this going against Ramon, but Rondo going for 16/10/5 already doesn't exactly scream "PG D fixed!" to me.
With both these games against the Celtics the Bucks just didn't think they could win right from the start, and everyone was flat because of it. Whilst that's disappointing, it's probably understandable given the state of the team, the injuries and the time of season.
Unnoticed on this forum is that the Bucks are doing a good job of keeping the margin under 20 lately. Always look for the silver lining.
The Celtics had no problem with the Bucks in this game. There was no let up as there had been in their previous matchup when the Bucks overcame a big deficit to force over time. The Celtics came out strong in this one and never looked back. The starters once again sat out the 4th quarter but this time the bench kept the lead and coasted to victory with the reserves on the court.
KG received the Red Auerbach award before the game. Two years ago, Red himself presented the first Auerbach award to Paul Pierce. Last season it went to Al Jefferson. KG finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists in just 22 minutes. My favorite play of the game was when KG wrapped his arms around Bogut to tie up the ball and picked him off the floor along with the ball. KG wanted the jump ball, but they called him for a foul. I guess carrying Bogut around while asking for the jump ball was a bit much.
Rondo got off to a great start and showed no ill effects from the illness that took him out of the Wizards game. He finished with 16 points, 10 assists, and 1 steal in 23 minutes. Ray Allen shot the ball well as he went 4-7 and finished with 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists in 25 minutes. Perk played some good defense with 3 blocks and also had 4 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes. Pierce continued his hot shooting and finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 22 minutes.
James Posey once again brought leadership to the second unit, finishing with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Sam Cassell returned from the back injury that kept him out of the last two games and played well with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 17 minutes. We also got to see Gabe Pruitt who I think is going to be a great back up for Rondo. Gabe finished with 2 points and 2 assists in 7+ minutes.
The Celtics shot 51% from the field while holding the Bucks to 38%. The fouls were very one sided as the Celtics shot only 5 free throws and the Bucks shot 30. Cousey mentioned that the Bucks didn't seem to be getting fouls called on them and Tommy mentioned that they weren't playing hard enough to get close to the Celtics to foul them. The Celtics pulled down 46 rebounds and the Bucks had 45. The turnovers were much better in this game for the Celtics as they kept them down to 13.
Next up are the Hawks who are still playing to stay in the playoffs and should give the Celtics a tough game. Because the Hawks are the likely first round matchup for the Celtics, they need to play to win this one so as not to give the Hawks any hope at all that they can beat the Celtics in the playoffs.
Only 4 games to play in the regular season. My how time flies when you're having fun. With only 4 games left, I expect Doc to try to get into a regular rotation in the remaining games but also try to keep the starters minutes down as much as possible. Tonight's game against Milwaukee has absolutely no meaning for either team. The Bucks are pretty much set in their spot for the lottery. They aren't a playoff team so the Celtics don't have to worry about meeting them in the playoffs. I expect Doc to start KG, Pierce, Rondo, Ray and Perk, but keep their minutes way down in this one as the following night is a game they will want to win against a team that is fighting to stay in the playoffs and who may be their first round matchup. I can't wait for the playoffs!!!
I have 2 concerns about this team going into the playoffs. One is their turnovers. The Celtics are 5th in the league in turnovers and the only one of the top teams who commit that many turnovers. They are also the worst in the league in turnovers per 100 possessions. In the playoffs, flaws like this are exploited and can lead to a team's early exit. The teams they will face in the conference finals and in the NBA finals take very good care of the ball and will make the Celtics pay for every turnover. I hope they can get them under control at least before they get into the second round. The other concern is free throw shooting. Ask Memphis whether free throw shooting is important. They need to make their free throws as in close games it could mean the difference between winning and losing. We don't want to start a hack a Celtics defense by the other teams.
I just love these commercials. The one with Shaq and Kobe is pretty ironic. This one is destined to become a classic.
Hollinger has his all defensive teams up on ESPN. It is no surprise that he has several Celtics mentioned on it since they are first in just about every defensive category this season. Rondo made first team for point guard. Pierce made 3rd team for small forward behind Tayshun Prince and Bruce Bowen. Perk is given honorable mention for centers and he mentions that Perk is an overlooked factor in the Celtics' success. It is no surprise that KG is first team for power forwards.
In other words, the entire jump from 18th in defensive efficiency a year ago to third all-time this season can pretty much be laid at the feet of Garnett. His intensity on the court is palpable, but perhaps even more important is how he has affected Pierce and the bench guys. I'm not sure whether that translates to MVP -- not when Chris Paul is saving basketball in New Orleans -- but if he doesn't win the defensive player of the year award, there needs to be an investigation, because he's been absolutely spectacular.
It is defense that is going to win the championship and if the Celtics continue to play defense like they have all year, they have a very, very good chance to win it all this season. Hopefully in these last 4 games, the defense will get back on track and be in perfect form going into the playoffs.
Doc kind of worries me going into the playoffs. He has never won a playoff series in his coaching career. Along with everything else, coaching becomes so much more important in the playoffs. It becomes a chess match with teams scouting the other team and making adjustments not only within games but from game to game and coaching becomes very important. I just finished reading the book Celtics Pride, Bob Ryan's book about the '73-74 Championship team. The finals that season was particularly a coaching series and Tommy Heinsohn, the Celtics coach made the adjustments that made the difference in the series. Can we depend on Doc to do that if it comes down to coaching in a series? Will Doc be able to match wits with Flip Saunders or Greg Popovich? I guess we shall see. I may be wrong, but just feel that Doc's weaknesses have been masked by the players on the floor and Tom Thibodeau this season. I am hoping that the combined basketball IQ of KG, Pierce, Ray Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Sam Cassell, James Posey, and Tom Thibodeau will make up for any shortcomings Doc might have. Things like this give me hope that Doc will get enough help from his players and assistants that coaching won't be a problem. Doc is smart enough to accept input from those around him and I believe he will.
Just 4 games left and then the playoffs. I remember all too well last season at this point not wanting the regular season to end because that was it. Now I can't wait for the playoffs. What a difference a year makes.
Here are comments found around the Wizards' boards during their game with the Celtics. Judging by the confidence this win gave the Wizards' fans, it likely gave the team a lot of confidence against the Celtics as well. I can only hope that the Celtics learn from their mistakes
This is a possilbe ECF preview. That is if the Celtics get that far.
L. Powe punked the Bobcats, not that it's that hard to punk around the boys in Charlotte. We better watch out that he doesn't catch Haywood on a Brenda day, or we'll pay and give up 20 off of the bench.
Can't wait to see Arenas come off the bench and light them up. We match up well with them and I would love to see them in the ECF or second round of the playoffs.
On top of all the trash talking that occurred during the back to back, there are a number of reasons for the Celtics to actually try to get this one. First they are going to want to prove that the last two games were a fluke. The wizard's beat them back to back short handed. Second, they will want to try to bump the wiz down to the 6 seed. I am sure they would rather not play the wiz in the second round if they can help it. Philly is a hot team, but they have next to no playoff experience. Cleveland is vulnerable. Finally, they don't want to lose the season series. Have they lost any season series this year, let alone a four game series?
That is all little picture stuff -- the goal for the Celtics is to win the Championship --- why jeopardize that by going full bore in any of the final 5 games when you have home court throughout the playoffs locked up?
It will be interesting to see how Doc doles out the minutes... I'm guessing that it will depend on how the game is going... If the Wiz have a working margin in the middle of the fourth, I could see Doc throwing in the towel early. However, if the Celts are in a position to snatch one, I see them keeping unit #1 in there to work on stretch time execution.
Here's what makes me nervous, both about this game and the possibility of facing Boston in the playoffs. In a previous game -- I think it was our first game against them this season -- when Antawn(?) went up for a shot, Garnett lept up and elbowed him in the head. It was a brutal shot that knocked him to the floor. I don't think it was an intentional cheap shot, but it was dangerous and I thought it probably should have been called a flagrant foul. They didn't call anything; it went into the books as a block. Now I don't believe that the refs or the league conspire to help certain teams win, but I do believe "superstars" get calls more than other players, even All Stars like Jamison. If Garnett got a free pass on a play like that early in the season, what's gonna happen this late, when the refs are starting to swallow their whistles, and in the playoffs when they really let them play? I don't want to see any more injuries to our team, and I don't want any part of Boston in the playoffs, unless and until we reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celts will probably rest their starters tonight as much as possible, then test 'em out and tune up against the playoff team the next night, especially since there's revenge on the line for the back to back beatdowns. We'll get a firey C's team I'm pretty sure. They'll look to see if their healthy Rondo trumps our 'healthy' Gil.
Not sure how the PT will shake out but the Celts will come to play. Doc is not going to let his team get owned by a squad they are likely to face in the playoffs. We're going to see a very proud Celtics team on Wed and these are (3) vets who are extra-dangerous when their pride is on the line. Watch for some early flying elbows from KG and attempted beat-down action. The good guys won't back down either. It's gonna be a dogfight in the phone booth.
Haywood needs to pimp slap KG and shut his trap before it opens up. KG acts as if hes fighting the war in Iraq when hes out there.
Agreed. Don't get me wrong, I love his game, but KG does take himself a little too seriously sometimes.
Yeah Kg is a nutcase
If I'm a Wizards fan in the stands, I beat every **** bandwagon Celtic fan up.
Pierce is going to kill our historically AWFUL perimeter D all night.
This a real choice series of ridiculous calls. It's like some switch went off in the refs' heads: must get Boston back into this game. Time to start calling everything in their favor.
It was only a matter of time before Boston makes a run. That said, that last bucket by KG boggles my mind. There were 3 Wizards players with a chance to box out Garnett and not one put a body on him.
Well, Boston has selected to play the big 3 Long minutes. Now it's a dog fight. If we beat them again we own them And it's huge boost for us.
Imagine snagging the fourth seed, knocking off the Cavs, and meeting up with the Celts in the second round. Man that'd be some tasty Wizards basketball.
Ah I love playing the Celtics
We're a terrible matchup for Boston and if we can secure the 5th or 4th spot the chances of meeting them in the second aren't all that bad.
I love how the Celts are getting the homecourt nod from the refs on the road. Typical.
We own Boston.
We own Boston. We will own them in the playoffs.
Boston choose to play their big 3 and we beat them again. Not good at all for them. Excellent boost for us. So what does it say about us being the only team to beat the best team THREE TIMES
It only means something if we can get out of the first round and whoop Boston in the second.
Had KG, Pierce, and Allen not been in the game in the 4th, Boston would be saying that we beat there bench. We beat their best players. We can beat Boston in a 7 game series in the 2nd round.
Boston is probably the worst 60 win team I have ever seen..and their future is gonna be terrible. Ray Allen already stinks and Garnett is going to be an old 32-33 with a lot of milage. They better win this year
Continuing to bring Gil off the bench is a further nightmare against the C's b/c of their PG situation. Rondo's best attribute is his D, but that's basically wasted if he spends most of his time on the floor dealing with AD. If Gilbert goes long stretches matched up against Cassell or Eddie House he's going to destroy either one.
Damn, if Eddie could just coach we'd have won by 20.
I think what last night's game proved is that those back to back wins earlier in the season over Boston weren't a fluke. This team has the talent to contend for the Finals THIS year.
In what might be a playoff preview of the second round, the Celtics came up woefully short. The Wizards became the only team to beat the Celtics 3 times this season as they pulled out a 109-95 win. The Celtics seemed to have forgotten how to play together for the most part. They allowed the Wizards too many second chance points, they turned the ball over way too much, they settled for outside shots and didn't take it to the basket, and the defense that got them the best record in the league wasn't to be found except in a couple of spurts.
The Celtics were down by 17 with 6:32 left in the second quarter and fought their way back to go into the half down just 2 at 55-53. It seemed as though they had found their rhythm but they came out flat in the third quarter and fell behind and never were able to get it together. Doc played KG 31 minutes, Pierce 37 minutes, and Ray Allen 36 minutes. Perk played only 19 minutes and didn't play at all in the 4th quarter. He was playing well and wasn't in foul trouble so I am not sure why Doc didn't play him in the 4th quarter. Leon Powe played only 7 minutes. PJ Brown played most of the 4th quarter and was on the court at the end of the game. Rondo played 24 minutes but left the game not feeling well. In his post game press conference, Doc said that he wasn't feeling well before the game but wanted to give it a go anyway. He left after 3 quarters with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists.
KG was definitely playing to win and had a couple of ferocious dunks along with 22 pints, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Pierce was on fire hitting 10 of 15 shots and 6-9 from beyond the arc. He finished with 28 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists, but with 6 turnovers, he is still playing out of control at times. Ray Allen was only 4-13 hit only 2 of 7 threes and finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He will need to find his shooting touch again if we are to go far into the playoffs. James Posey once again played big minutes off the bench with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in 30 minutes of play. Big Baby strained a hamstring in the first half and didn't return. He played only 5 minutes.
The Celtics once again had 2 areas of concern that will come back to bite them if they don't solve them before the playoffs. They were 14-21 from the line. Missing 7 free throws is not acceptable and could cost them a close game in the playoffs when every point counts. They also turned the ball over 20 times and this is probably the biggest concern as in the playoffs, every possession is valuable and they can't afford to turn the ball over that many times.
The Celtics shot only 45% from the field while allowing the Wizards to shoot 51%. They settled for way too many outside shots that just weren't falling and they didn't take advantage of a weak interior defense at times to take the ball to the hoop. The Wizards outscored the Celtics in the paint 52-36 and that should never be. For whatever reason, the Celtics defense was out of sync all night and allowed the Wizards open shots and easy drives to the hoop.
The Wizards may be the Celtics second round matchup and by allowing them to beat us in this one, they will be coming in with confidence and momentum on their side. The Celtics on the other hand will need to really focus on their game as they come in at a disadvantage. It was a disappointing loss as it seemed that the Celtics just didn't have any chemistry or rhythm to their game. Their defense was not there tonight. They gave the Wizards a mental edge should they meet in the second round. Hopefully the Celtics will regain their focus and get some momentum going into the playoffs. It is time for Doc to stop experimenting and get down to a set rotation and build toward the playoffs.
Here are comments found around the Bucks' boards during their game with the Celtics. There seemed to be more chat about the Brewers's game than the Celtics game, though. I remember all too well having mixed emotions about wins vs lottery position. We all know how that worked out, don't we?
Boston has nothing to play for and sat out their Big 3 in their last game. Ray will probably find a reason not to play.
Let's hope KG doesn't playas that will free up Bogut to abuse Perkins.
Even without the big 3 this is a L
The Brewers could end up in last place with 100 losses this season but they have given sports fans around here more fun in the last week than the Bucks have given since 2001.
I don't see how we don't win this game.
Celtics off to their usual flying start. It's amazing how often they blow teams away early in the first quarter.
I'm going to declare us officially "in the clear" as far as moving any further away from the number 1 pick. Charlotte's going to beat Minny tonightputting them 4 wins ahead of us with 5 games remainingand we play Boston again.
Watching Royal Ivey be aggressive on offense is like watching a Chihuahua try to knock down a brick wall.
I'm listening to the Celtics broadcasters and they're digging our new PG. Saying Sessions has done well with the ball and is showing great 'poise'.
Bogut 3 turnovers away from a triple-double.
Commentator: For an infant Big Baby hits hard.
Is Bogut seeing stars?
Tony Allen flying by Sessions at will all game.
Do you see the team that Boston has on the floor? A wheelchair team should be able to defend them.
Basically the Celtics use their starters to open up a huge leadthen let their scrubs come in and bleed it away. But their scrubs play our starters much better than our starters play their starters.
I want the Bucks to win if for no other reason than so that we can claim to have seen the most undeserving win in NBA history.
Doc Rivers is tanking this game...quick Doc it's 2008 not 2007!
Do the Celts have anything to play for at this point?
Everyone's so pumped we're beating the hell out of the Celtics bench.
Here comes Doc Rivers victory cigar. Brian Scalabrine enters the game
Scalabrine is in. We're screwed.
Is that seriously the best pic of Glen Davis ESPN could find?
Somebody tackle Eddie house
It's fun to watch exciting basketball. Who cares that we can't beat Boston's terrible second unit with our starters. Still have to be a fan.
Ignore the fact we're playing the Celts bench and acknowledge the admirable comeback.
The best part right nowis that if we winit really has no implications on our drafting position.
And it's not like this game means anything for Boston either. It's just a fun basketball game.
10 TOs for Bogut
The entire Celtics team have incredibly active hands on D
Kinda sad when the Bucks can't beat the Celtics' JV team.
It is the Celticsliterally the best team in the league even the bench players have that mentality now
Also saying we lost to the Celtics scrubs isn't entirely accuratewe were down 25 to them with the big 3 inthen outscored them 25 to get to OTso really we smashed their scrubsbut got smashed by the big 3.
-During introductions Garnett and Allen were cheered loudly by the crowd and for sure louder than any of the Bucks that were introduced.
Drunk Celtics fan in my section was yelling ESPN top ten nominee everytime the Celtics made a play for literellay the whole game.
Nothing I hate more than the fan of an opposing team in a visting arena that feels the need to act like their team hit the game winning 3 at the buzzer after every damn play.
People like that deserve to have beer thrown at them,luckly for their sake beer is so damn expensive at the BC Something about people that act like that though screams ''im a bandwagon jumper''.
The plan was for only one of the Celtics stars to play in this game and for Pierce to meet the team in Washington. But, they had a team dinner last night and the three amigos convinced Doc to let them play in this one. They started and were on the floor to start the third, but Doc limited their minutes to 22 or less. When they left the floor in the third, the Celtics had a 23 point lead.
By the end of the third period, the lead was down to 14 at 80-66. With 3:50 left in the 4th, Milwaukee took their first lead at 88-87. The Celtics fought back and were up 99-91 with 1:45 left in regulation. The Bucks scored the last 8 points in regulation to tie the game at 99. In overtime, the Celtics finally pulled out a 107-104 win. Doc kept the starters on the bench and let the bench play it out and they kept their composure and pulled it out in the end.
KG played less than 20 minutes and finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. Pierce came back to finish with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Perk only scored 1 point but came up big on the defensive end and pulled down 10 rebounds. Posey came up big off the bench with some great defense on Michael Redd and 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. His leadership is invaluable for this second unit. Tony had 17 points but is still very inconsistent. Powe fouled out with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Baby had 3 points, 8 rebounds and 7 turnovers.
The Celtics shot 49% from the field while holding the Bucks to 40%. Rebounds were even at 42 and turnovers were even at 23. The Celtics shot only 28-39 from the line and those 11 missed free throws could have cost them the game. The Celtics have 2 weaknesses they need to address before the playoffs as they won't get away with turning the ball over 23 times against the Pistons who take very good care of the ball. And, they won't be able to get away with missing 11 free throws in the playoffs, either.
The Hall of Fame inductees for 2008 have been announced and once again, DJ was not chosen. DJ should have been inducted long ago and the fact that he is continually bypassed is a terrible injustice to a player who deserves to be in the Hall.
Joe Dumars was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006 and DJ's credentials are just as good, if not better. Dumars was part of 2 championship teams with the Pistons. DJ won 3 championships, 2 with Boston and 1 with Seattle. The fact that he was able to win championships with 2 different teams speaks for itself. Both Dumars and DJ were named Finals MVP once.
Dumars made All NBA 2nd team once and All NBA 3rd team twice while DJ Made All NBA 1st team once and All NBA 2nd team once. I would say that pretty much evens out. Even though DJ was on the first team while Dumars wasn't but Dumars made the third team twice to none for DJ.
DJ was named to the NBA All Defensive 1st team 6 times and to the NBA All Defensive 2nd team three times. Joe Dumars made only 4 All Defensive teams. Dumars was a 6 time All Star while DJ was a 5 time All Star.
When we compare their career stats, DJ comes out on top. Dumars scored 16,401 points, pulled down 2,203 rebounds, and dished out 4,612 assists. DJ scored 15,535 points, pulled down 4,249 rebounds and dished out 5,499 assists. He was only the 11th player to amass over 15,000 points and 5,000 rebounds.
DJ was also a very durable player. Over his 14 year career, he missed only 48 games. He played in 180 playoff games, which was the 11th highest total of all time. Everything about DJ's career showed that he was the consummate pro and no less than Larry Bird called him the best teammate he ever had.
As you can see from the comparison, DJ's NBA credentials are just as good and maybe better than Joe Dumars. Yet, Dumars was elected to the Hall in 2006 and DJ was turned down for the 4th time in 2008. It is an ongoing injustice that needs to be remedied. It is a travesty that DJ wasn't elected when Dumars and his Celtics teammates were elected, while he was alive to enjoy it. But it has become even more of a travesty as he continues to be overlooked. The Hall needs to change its method of voting or its voters because there is something very wrong with the way they are doing it now.
Who would have thought that the unveiling of KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce as teammates would have lead to the dominance that we have seen this season. I have been looking at some of the predictions that were made at the beginning of the season and not many people predicted this kind of turn around for the Celtics. I went back to the previews that were posted on CelticsBlog. There were 6 different previews presented: Jeff at CelticsBlog made this prediction:
I’m predicting 50 wins for this team because I believe they'll either have trouble meshing early on or hit a rough patch somewhere in the middle of the season. That will be where the true character of this team shines through. On the other hand, if they hit on all cylinders and stay in good health they could get up to 55 or even 60 wins.
I’m comfortable with saying 50 wins if all major players are healthy with a range of 48 -53 wins as the parameters. I’m not going crazy with expectations in their first year together.
Predicted Record: 49-33 That's a huge turn around from last season and a rare display of rational thought from me. I fought the urge to predict a 50+ win season. Call it the Doc Rivers effect.
Red's Army agreed with Green Bandwagon with a 49-33 prediction.
Predicted Record: 49-33 Why won’t I go 50? Basically, I’m going to give them a little wiggle room for getting to know each other. I think they can win up to 55 games… but I’m playing it cautious when I consider the “Doc Factor” and the potential for early struggles. Maybe I’m also a bit gunshy after making a huge prediction last year. So shoot me. I’d rather be wrong when they go over my prediction.
Celtics 24/7 was a bit more optimistic:
Boston will go 52-30, and overcome early chemistry issues.
And our very own Loyalist predicted 50-32 (at least) here on LOY's Place.
Boston is as close to a lock for number 1 in the East as you can get. Detroit is still a force. Cleveland was the ultimate underdog and it still remains to be seen if they can repeat the past season performance. Chicago is also among the top EC teams, while Miami seems to have fallen sharply. Perk has to be able to be prove he is a legit Bigman as well as Rondo who is still unproven at Point. However, all things considered, I predict Boston silencing a lot of critics. Predicted Record: 50-30 (at least)
After looking at the predictions from the blogs that cover the Celtics, I was curious as to what the national media predicted for the Celtics. First, I looked at the GM survey on NBA.com. When asked which team will win the Eastern Conference, 25.9% of the GM's predicted the Celtics, 25.9% predicted the Pistons and surprisingly, 22.2% predicted the Bulls and 14.8% predicted the Heat. As surprising as the Celtics were in a positive way, the Bulls and Heat were surprising in a negative way.
Next, I checked out an NBA.com preview that listed the picks of the experts. Out of their 9 experts, only 2 predicted the Celtics to win the Eastern Conference. 5 picked the Bulls, 1 picked the Pistons and 1 picked the Cavaliers. Here are a sampling from the comments section:
Nets’ depth reigns supreme over The Big Three. (John Hareas)
I like Chicago to get out of the East because I just don't see Boston coming together that quickly and the Bulls' young talent is just starting to come into their own. (Dave McMenamin)
The Celtics will easily be the most improved team, but they'll need another year together and another year under Rajon Rondo's belt before they can win the East. Still, 47-50 wins should be enough to earn KG his second MVP. (John Schuhmann)
On ESPN, John Hollinger's preview has the Celtics at 3rd in the East and 1st in the Atlantic. He predicts the Bulls to finish 55-27, the Cavs to finish 54-28 and the Celtics 51-31. Here is what he had to say about the Celtics:
Despite my doubts as to whether the new trio of Allen, Pierce and Garnett has enough help to have a realistic shot at winning the East, they should win the division easily and cruise into Round 2 of the playoffs.
You'll keep saying Boston doesn't have nearly enough around its new big three to go far ... and I'll keep responding by saying that this ain't 1987. In today's East, you can get to the Finals without a Bill Walton or Scott Wedman off the bench.
The worst of the predictions came from Chris Sheridan who said that the Celtics would be 2nd in the Atlantic and 6th in the East. Ric Bucher wasn't much better, predicting the Celtics 2nd in the Atlantic and 5th in the East and he added this little tidbit:
The Kool-aid remains untouched in this corner. Playoff team, yes. Title contender? Everybody has evidently forgotten how much depth and transition D divide the haves and have-nots in the postseason. They're about to be reminded.
Chad Ford picked the Celtics to win the Atlantic and place 2nd in the East, but he has this to say about them.
The C's will not only be successful, they'll be really fun to watch. If KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce all stay healthy they'll be playing (and possibly beating) the Pistons in the conference finals. But if one (or more) of that trio goes down, it will get ugly.
I think the Celtics proved him wrong in that KG went down for 9 games and the Celtics were 7-2 without him. Ray Allen spent some time on the IL and the Celtics still played well. With all 3 out, the Celtics won in a blowout against the Bobcats. I think the bench is much better than anyone ever expected.
Jon Barry picked the Celtics 1st in the Atlantic and 2nd in the East. He had this to say about them:
Expectations are NBA Finals or bust, but I don't think they have the team to win it. With Ray Allen and KG, this will be the team to beat in the East. Big questions: point guard and bench.
Questions have been answered in the positive. Rondo has exceeded expectations and the bench has proved to be much stronger than anyone expected them to be.
Jemele Hill predicted the Celtics to win the Atlantic but come in 3rd in the East and had these comments about them:
I love the big three, but I'm not convinced the Celts will win the East the first time out with their new toys. Can't overlook the thin bench or that it will take time for the trio to blend (See: Iverson, Allen and Anthony, Carmelo).
Even Bill Simmons, who loves the Celtics picked them 3rd in the East with a record of 49-33 behind Chicago and Detroit. He didn't predict all the records that this team would set, but he did predict a couple of records for them:
The Celtics break the records for "most amount of time the bench guys stood up clapping and cheering during an 82-game season" and "most times the other four guys immediately ran over to pick up a teammate who got knocked down."
Yes, it seems as though not many people saw the success of this Celtics team coming. Most of the experts didn't give the Celtics much chance of winning the East. And for the most part people predicted somewhere around 50 wins, feeling that if they doubled their wins from last season it would be quite a feat. This brings me to my own prediction for this season that I wrote for Hoopsblogging. Here is what I predicted for the Celtics.
The biggest area of improvement for this team is going to be on the defensive end. Last season, the Celtics were ranked near the bottom in every defensive category. We couldn’t get stops when needed and that was often the difference in games.
I project the record to be 60-22 this season which will be the biggest turn around since Red Auerbach drafted one Larry Joe Bird. Celtic Pride is back in Boston.
Little did I know that as optimistic as I was before the season, the Celtics would even exceed my expectations. I came a lot closer than most of the experts with my 60-22 prediction, but I have to admit that I predicted 49 wins for last season's team also. Drinking all that koolaid is finally paying off.
